Letter praises doctor’s dedication
Deeply moved by her mother’s care, daughter gives provider top rating
One family’s experience reinforced the valuable role primary care providers (PCPs) play in our lives. A daughter of an elderly mother wrote a heartfelt thank you to her mother’s PCP, Hilary Gerber, DO, a PeaceHealth family medicine specialist in Vancouver, Washington.
Dr. Gerber happened to be filling in for the patient’s regular PCP when the patient came in after a fall. It turned out to be the first step of a health journey with several twists and turns in a few short weeks. The letter tells it best. Following are excerpts:
I'm writing on behalf of my mother to express our sincere appreciation and gratitude for the outstanding care and compassion Dr. Hilary Gerber has provided to date in 2017.
My mother is 88 years old with a lot of health issues. The care she received from Dr. Gerber to date is beyond our expectations.
Dr. Gerber's professional expertise is exceptional, superseding 50+ MDs with whom we have consulted in the past 10-30 years. My mother fell and needed to see a doctor ASAP.
We were seen by Dr. Gerber because my mother's PCP was not available. I was impressed by Dr. Gerber's professional skills. She examined my mother's lower back and pelvis by hand very carefully, and told me that there was no bone fracture and x-ray was not needed.
However, I requested x-rays anyway for peace of mind (as) my mother has had multiple falls in the past 10 years…Two days later, the x-rays confirmed Dr. Gerber's hand exam results; no bone fractures in my mother's lower back.
Dr. Gerber works very hard and has passion for her patients.
My mother was short of breath and was sent to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center’s Emergency Department.
She stopped breathing, was intubated in the ED and transferred to intensive care unit. During her hospital stay of over 10 days, Dr. Gerber monitored my mother's situation daily in the evenings…
I am deeply moved by Dr. Gerber's dedication, working in her spare time in order to provide better service to her new patient, whom she had just met for 20 minutes three days earlier.
My mother was sent to the ED again a few weeks later because her feet and hands were swollen, a possible indication of organ failure.
Dr. Gerber monitored my mother's situation from home as each test result came out, again working in her spare time in the evening. When she saw my mother the next day, she already knew everything from the ED, and explained the test results and care plan.
Dr. Gerber's dedication to her patients surpasses anything I have seen…
I have lived in the US for 30+ years, my mother for 10+ years and no MDs have done this for us before Dr. Gerber. I rate her as among the top 1 percent of MDs in the US.
Dr. Gerber is an outstanding medical doctor, and I am very happy that we met her and have her as mother's PCP.
